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Pat Cummins-led Australia managed to achieve what they set out to achieve in the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 final. They were able to silence over one lakh Indian fans at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. After a superb bowling display, Travis Head’s record-breaking 137 and Marnus Labuschagne’s unbeaten half-century helped Australia tame the lethal India bowling attack that decimated batting lineups. India’s wait for an ICC trophy continued as they failed to bring up their A game in the final and lost by six wickets with 42 balls to spare.
Earlier, Cummins won the toss and opted to bowl first. Rohit Sharma started off in his typical fashion with two fours in the second over against Josh Hazlewood. He continued to disrupt with Hazlewood's length but stepped down the track. In the fifth over, Mitchell Starc got the wicket of Shubman Gill who went for a non-existent pull shot and got caught at mid-on by Adam Zampa. He scored just four runs from seven balls. But the wicket did not change Rohit's tempo. He hit Starc for a maximum in the same over. After taking his time, Kohli hit Starc for three consecutive fours in the seventh over as India crossed the fifty-run mark.
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Cummins introduced Glenn Maxwell into the attack. Rohit attacked Maxwell and hit him for a six followed by a four But he took one chance too many. Dancing down the track, he got caught by Head who took a sensational catch. The opener scored 47 runs from just 31 balls including four fours and three sixes. Cummins introduced himself and got the wicket of Shreyas Iyer who poked at a delivery with negligible foot movement. Iyer scored just four runs from three balls. Kohli and KL Rahul tried to string together a partnership. They knocked the ball around for singles and ran hard between the wickets for twos but could not hit boundaries. Rahul played too many dot deliveries. In the 26th over, Kohli reached his half-century from 56 balls.
The boundary drought continued for 97 balls. Rahul hit his first boundary off Maxwell in the 27th over. Cummins brought himself back into the attack and got Kohli's wicket with a slower short-of-the-length delivery. Kohli scored 54 runs from 63 balls including four fours. Ravindra Jadeja was sent ahead of Suryakumar Yadav. Rahul got to his half-century from 86 balls. But boundaries continued to elude Indian batters. In the 36th over, Hazlewood was brought back into the attack and he got the wicket of Jadeja who scored just nine runs from 22 balls.
In the 39th over, Suryakumar scored a boundary. India reached 200 in the 41st over. But Starc came back into the attack and got the wicket of Rahul. The wicketkeeper-batter scored 66 runs from 107 balls including just one boundary. Mohammed Shami got off the mark with a boundary but in the next over Starc got his wicket. Zampa in his last over dismissed Jasprit Bumrah. In the 48th over, Hazlewood got the wicket of Suryakumar who scored just 18 runs from 28 balls. Mohammed Siraj scored a boundary in the final over. With a run out of the last ball, India got bowled out for 240.
Australia's run chase got off to a flyer. A thick edge off David Warner's bat caught Kohli off-guard as it went for a boundary. Head hit two fours as Bumrah leaked 15 runs in the first over. Shami opened the bowling instead of Siraj. He struck with his first legal delivery by getting Warner's wicket. Mitchell Marsh made a statement with a boundary in the same over. In the next over, Shami continued to counterattack and hit Shami for a maximum. Bumrah got the better of Marsh as he edged one to the wicketkeeper. He contributed with a run-a-ball 15. Bumrah in the seventh over trapped Steve Smith in front of the stumps with a slower off-cutter. Smith decided not to use DRS even though the ball hit him outside the off stump. Australia lost three wickets for 47 runs from seven overs. After a slow start, Head hit Shami for two fours in the 10th over.
Marnus Labuschagne struggled to get the ball away but Head made up for hit. He hit his first six of the innings off Kuldeep Yadav in the 16th over. Australia crossed the 100-run mark in the 20th over. Siraj was toothless in his first spell. Head reached his half-century from 58 balls. No bowling change worked in India's favour. Head shifted gears in the middle overs to take the game away from India. Bumrah in his comeback over was hit for three fours by Head. Labuschagne survived an lbw call as umpire Richard Kettleborough's call saved him despite the ball clipping the leg stump. He was batting on 34 then.
Head in the 34th over reached his century from 95 balls. Head continued to take the risks and hit sixes. He became the only second batter to hit a century in a World Cup run chase. Labuschagne completed his half-century with a boundary in the 40th over. He reached the milestone of 99 balls. In the 43rd over, Head looked to finish the run chase in style but found Gill in the deep. He departed after scoring 137 runs from 120 balls including 15 fours and four sixes. Maxwell finished the run chase with a couple of runs as Australia won their sixth World Cup with 42 balls to spare. Labuschagne remained unbeaten for 58 off 110 balls including four fours.
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